FMT(1) General Commands Manual FMT(1)

fmt - simple text formatter

fmt [ -l n ] [ -i n ] [ -j ] [ file ... ]

Fmt copies the given files (standard input by default) to its standard output, filling and indenting lines. The options are

Output line length is n, including indent (default 70).
A synonym for -l.
Indent n spaces (default 0).
Do not join short lines: only fold long lines.

Empty lines and initial white space in input lines are preserved. Empty lines are inserted between input files.

Fmt is idempotent: it leaves already formatted text unchanged.

/appl/cmd/fmt.b